Celebrate St. Stephen's Day Today

I LOVE the way the Lord works in my life and I totally love how He is constantly reminding me through various means about the saints of old who were martyred for their faith.  This morning I was reading my email and I received an email from Pastor Steve, a friend of mine I work with at the Lutheran church, and he was reminding us that today is St. Stephen's Day - yes, that's right, December 26th is St. Stephen's Day.

Did you know that?

Me either, which is why I love writing this blog because I always learn something new.  Pastor Steve wrote this in his email and then I've followed up what he says by some other information I found online.

From Pastor Steve...

Today the church remembers Stephen, the first deacon and martyr of the church.  Called to do the jobs that others didn't want, Stephen rose to the challenge of leading the faithful in caring for the poor, widows, children, the indigent.  He also took a public stand for his faith and was summariliy stoned by an angry mob.  Following in the footsteps of Christ is no guarantee of an easy life!

Many in the world celebrate "Boxing Day" today as well, when gifts are shared beyond the boundaries of the traditional family: why not include the marginalized in the world in YOUR circle of grace today (in honor of Jesus and Stephen!).

And from Wikipedia we receive the following information about St. Stephen's Day.

St Stephen's Day, or the Feast of St Stephen, is a Christian saint's day celebrated on 26 December in the Western Church and 27 December in the Eastern Church. Churches which adhere to the Julian calendar mark St Stephen's Day in January, although from their perspective they are celebrating it in December. It commemorates St Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr.